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Ed Solomon
@ed_solomon 5 years, 6 months ago 1139 views

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At the cafe where I'm writing the people next to me were disagreeing about the origins of Men in Black & I said "If you'd like, I could clear that up for you" & one responded: "I'm sorry, we do not need an old white male's mansplanation." So I apologized and that was that.

(And by the way - it's not like that was the first thing that was said; we'd actually exchanged small talk about various things over the course of their meal and my work.)

Okay, on the way out of the bathroom as they were leaving her friend apologized & said I just got them on a bad day for that, & I said no worries, no need to apologize & she said "Well regardless she shouldn't've used the word 'old' like that" & I literally laughed out loud

Not that it matters, when I said I'd never heard the world manspanation, which I thought was a good word, she said she was pretty sure her friend had said "explanation" and so it's possible I heard it incorrectly. (Does this matter? No. Should I get back to work? Yes.)

SHE WROTE TO ME! She saw this thread on Reddit and realized it was her and she reached out! Oh my god it was so sweet. And she really made me laugh at the end cause she said basically “PS which one of us was right, me or my friend?” (About their disagreement) (it was her)

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$Sandra Proudman \U0001f4a7\U0001f608\U0001f680$

Sandra Proudman 💧😈🚀...
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As we’re heading into the #PitchWars showcase and since the conversation seems abuzz...here’s a thread of questions I would recommend you ask not only potential agents during The Call, but references, and clients you reach out to personally:

1) What happens if we don’t sell this project? Are you willing to look at a pitch in the same genre?

I heard a panel recently where half the writers were dropped by their first agent after they pitched their second project. Be sure to ask around outside of the agent on this one.

2) Are you an editorial agent? Why or why not?

Meaning, will they revise the manuscript with you beforehand or just do small edits and send it off to editors. Both have their pros and cons, and one might matter to you more.

3) How many clients do you have and how do you juggle your workload with your clients?

In other words, how much time do they have to devote to you and your career. You can also ask, on average how long does it take to get a project on sub?

4) How would you describe yourself as an agent? What are some ways that others have described you as an agent?

This one I think is rarely in questions lists, but I think it’s a fun one to see how passionate an agent gets about their career.

Flying_Rodent
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Things we don’t learn in this article: that the author wrote David Cameron’s speeches during the period when they were intentionally underfunding the NHS and other services, directly creating the problem the author is concerned about now.

Today we learn health services are brutally underfunded with scant support for hard pressed staff, although it\u2019s left unclear who is responsible for that and it appears to be an exceptional, totally unpredicted phenomenon, like a freak weather event. pic.twitter.com/StwFR7RejE
— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) January 25, 2021

We also don’t learn that the paper it’s written in stridently supported those measures and attacked junior doctors threatening strike action over NHS cuts and long working hours, accusing them of holding the country to ransom.

We aren’t reminded that NHS funding and the future of health provision was a central part of previous election campaigns, and that attempts to highlight these problems were swiftly stomped on or diverted and then ignored by most of the press, including the Times.

I’d underline here that “corruption” doesn’t just mean money in brown envelopes: it describes a situation where much of an organisation is personally motivated to ignore, downplay or divert from malfeasance for personal reasons - because highlighting them would be bad for careers

Foges was Cameron’s speechwriter at the height of austerity; Forsyth is married to the PM’s spokesman; Danny F is a Tory peer; Parris is a former MP; Gove used to write for them regularly, and that’s before we get to professional mates-with-ministers like Shipman or Montgomerie.

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Someone asked me recently about breaking into the video game industry as a writer / narrative designer. There's so, so much good advice out there that I only tend to hit this topic on rare occasion. But it's been a while, so let's go!

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First: Write, write well, and write video games. Published non-games material is great, but at this point there's no reason not to put together a Twine game or similar to add to your portfolio. Show you're interested in the medium.

If you're applying to a job that requires a writing test (most companies serious about narrative will require one), do what the test says. Follow instructions. Show you can deliver what your client is asking for. Do it well.

If you're submitting other samples, make them diverse in style / tone / character voice--show range. If you want to be artsy and experimental, you can INCLUDE that but it shouldn't be the focus. I want to know someone can tell a straightforward story adeptly. Basics first!

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This will 10x your copy 👇

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Make sure, that in the copy you:

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Focus copy on users.

Instead of saying "we offer" or "our solution," rewrite the copy to address your customers.

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$Jeannette Ng \u5433\u5fd7\u9e97$

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So, you’re a writer and you’re worried about writing outside your immediate experiences and identities.

Here is the thread of practical advice for you.

EXAMINE YOUR MOTIVES. Why do you want to write this?

Are you trying to solve racism/sexism/colonialism with your work?

As writers we love stories about heroic writers whose work has changed the world. And as such we like to look to our own writing to solve societal problems.

And I understand this completely, not the least because I’ve felt the pull.

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There this story was discussed.

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Lachit Borphukan's humiliation of Aurangzeb.

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Guts, resolve and glory!

(Elaborate thread)

Koch was a state situated between the dominions of M0ghuls and Ahoms. For Ahoms, it was a buffer state for keeping M0ghul territorial expansions at bay.(1)

Times changed when the ruler of the Koch kingdom, Nara Narayana passed away in 1587 resulting in Koch being divided into 2. Western Koch was ruled by his son Lakshmi Narayan and the eastern Koch by his nephew, Raghudev.(2)

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We should stop confusing what someone was doing when we became aware of them with all they are capable of, interested in, or ever hope to be

Let folks have their many talents, interests and gifts. Life is far more fun with variety, loves.

A lot of folks have come to know me as an activist & I’m grateful that folks care to know me at all.

But I wasn’t born in 2014. I was a whole teacher, executive, policy person, speaker, arts and culture lover, reader, writer, woman of faith, fashion and more before 4 yrs ago 🤷🏾‍♀️

We rightfully complain that marginalized people are not allowed to be fully human.

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Can I live?

And don’t go reading anything personal into this-this isn’t about me necessarily and it’s no subtweet (I try hard not to do that.)

I’ve just been observing that behavior more and more lately. Especially when it comes to marginalized folks.

Evolution should be our aspiration.

“Can’t knock the hustle” should be our anthem.

As long as someone isn’t bringing active and continual harm, why can’t they explore their many sides?